I really don't understand you people with all your schemes and hidden agendas.

The bright moon hung high, and the azure sky was filled with stars.

Yuan Kong sat on the roof eaves, looking up at the sky, holding a half-eaten spirit fruit in his hand.

After a long while, he looked down again.

In the courtyard, Cui Hao was practicing his fist techniques. His moves were slow but full of profound charm.

Lin Luoyu stood to the side, casually throwing out a reminder from time to time—"Are you giving the air a massage?"

At first, Cui Hao gladly accepted the advice, but as the number of critiques increased, it became obvious that he was struggling to take it well.

He didn't say that Lin Luoyu was wrong; her words were facts, making them hard to refute.

Cui Hao chose to change the subject and said:

"Master said that once I understand the fist, I will definitely know how to use the sword. The fist is the master of all weapons! Once I master it, I'll know how to use everything."

Lin Luoyu sneered, "Then let's spar. Although I've never practiced fist techniques, we'll use fists to spar. I'll even suppress my cultivation base to a minor realm lower than yours. Are you in?"

"As your junior brother, how could I raise my hand against my senior sister? If Master sees this, he'll definitely say I'm bullying you."

Cui Hao shook his head repeatedly. He had a clear enough understanding of his own combat strength, but that didn't stop him from being stubborn with his words.

This wasn't an issue of divine abilities, but rather that his senior brothers and sisters were all ridiculously strong.

Each one was a better fighter than the last.

Cui Hao always felt that even if his senior brothers and sisters gave him a handicap of one divine ability, he still wouldn't necessarily be able to beat them.

Listening to Cui Hao's stubborn remarks, Lin Luoyu wasn't polite in the slightest.

After all, having spent so much time together, there was no need for superficial pleasantries among their own people within the sect.

Lin Luoyu decisively threw a punch and pressured him.

Seeing this, Cui Hao was shocked in his heart. He retreated again and again, just short of covering his head and scurrying away like a rat.

If he took a beating right now, there would truly be nowhere to reason it out.

However, after two exchanges, Cui Hao breathed a sigh of relief—Fourth Senior Sister was still kind. She didn't take this opportunity to actually teach him a lesson.

Instead, she was feeding him moves. Feeling the Haoran Sword Art transforming from sword to palm, the changes in spiritual energy, and the flow of her imposing aura, Lin Luoyu's Dao rhythm was fully displayed without a doubt.

Cui Hao also began to study it with a serious expression, while unavoidably praising Lin Luoyu in his heart.

As expected of the Haoran Righteous Qi!

He, Cui Hao, fiercely approved of it. The next time he saw another person with Haoran Righteous Qi, he would definitely go up and coax them with a few flattering words.

Yuan Kong watched the two people below, and an indescribable emotion rose in his heart. He was no longer the little monk of the past who knew nothing. Along the way, he had also come to understand that what Cui Hao possessed was a divine ability that everyone envied and desired.

"Yo, isn't this Yuan Kong? Are you jealous?"

Yuan Kong's gaze followed the direction of the voice, only to see that Chu Xingchen was already standing beside him, looking down at the two people below with a gentle gaze. Xie Lingyu was also accompanying him by his side.

"There's nothing to be jealous of. I have met someone who treated me even better."

"Yuan Jing? That makes sense." Hearing this, Chu Xingchen also nodded in agreement.

Yuan Kong took a bite of his spirit fruit and asked in a strange tone:

"Runan should be arriving tomorrow. Are you really this free right now?"

Chu Xingchen shrugged his shoulders, "The plan was made long ago. If I were still racking my brains over it now, we would truly be doomed. By the way, have you gone to see Bright Buddha?"

Yuan Kong shook his head, "I haven't gone."

Chu Xingchen asked with a smile, "I saw that you and Runan had a pretty good chat, so I thought you would seek out Bright Buddha to thoroughly study a thing or two."

"It's different." Yuan Kong swallowed the spirit fruit in his hand and then said, "I don't know how to explain it to you. Anyway, Buddhist Dharma is a conflicted and strange thing. It claims to be idealistic, yet it's not entirely idealistic."

Chu Xingchen raised an eyebrow slightly, "You only ask yourself if you wanted to do it at the time, and don't ask if you'll regret it in the future?"

"Something like that." Yuan Kong sighed softly, his gaze fixed on Chu Xingchen as he spoke with a sincere tone, "I don't understand the affairs of you top-tier cultivators, but I only hope that you will be safe and sound."

"Just that one sentence? Aren't monks supposed to pray for blessings?"

"The object of my prayers is your opponent. I feel that the probability of him blessing you is lower than zero. Praying would be in vain, so it's better not to pray at all."

"Hearing you say that tells me you're still young."

"Hmm? Am I wrong?"

"Naturally, you are wrong. Not only should you pray, but you should pray fiercely. It's best if you pray so hard that he can actually feel it."

"What use is that? He won't bless you anyway."

"Naturally, it's to disgust him. If you were about to fight a life-and-death battle with your mortal enemy, and one of your believers was kneeling and begging you to bless your mortal enemy with safety, at that moment, not only would you feel betrayed, but you'd also feel a sense of despair like eating something you shouldn't have and not being able to spit it out."

Hearing this, Yuan Kong's expression became exceptionally colorful. He looked Chu Xingchen up and down, and finally nodded in agreement:

"Indeed, compared to you, I'm just an unranked child."

"Learn well and watch closely, this will be of great use in the future." Chu Xingchen nodded in satisfaction, while urging, "Don't just sit idle and watch the moon now. Hurry up and start praying for me."

Yuan Kong gave a thumbs-up, then sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to chant his prayers.

Xie Lingyu stood to the side, listening to their exchange, her gaze fixed on Chu Xingchen—finding it somewhat amusing, yet also a bit exasperating.

What in the world was this? It was like children bickering.

Chu Xingchen lowered his eyes. He noticed Xie Lingyu's gaze but didn't look back.

He had already sensed it. In this meeting, the danger to him might be far higher than that to Bright Buddha.

The Heavenly Demons were forcing their way towards the Western Bull Continent.

Perhaps they weren't really coming to seek refuge; it was more likely that they were clenching their fists to swing at him again.

After all... they had only lost once.

Their primary target was probably still him.

"What's wrong?" Xie Lingyu noticed and asked softly from his side.

Hearing this, Chu Xingchen looked at Xie Lingyu with a smile on his face and said softly:

"The moon is so beautiful tonight."

Hearing this, Xie Lingyu turned her head to look at the bright, clear moon tonight.

Before she could answer.

Chu Xingchen continued, "However, you are even more beautiful."

Xie Lingyu looked back at him.

Her gaze met Chu Xingchen's eyes, which seemed to hold endless tenderness.

Xie Lingyu thought for a moment and said softly:

"Say these kinds of things to me less."

"Do you not like it?"

Xie Lingyu shook her head gently and suddenly broke into a bright smile.

She didn't answer, yet she had answered.

It was because she liked it too much.

The morning clouds formed a precious canopy, arriving with the sky full of rosy rays.

Runan arrived on time, but his imposing aura was far higher and greater than before.

Bright Buddha sat composedly on the main seat within the formation.

The three sects were also in full battle readiness at this moment. There were two new faces among the Tribulation Crossing cultivators, showing they were exceptionally serious about this meeting.

Chu Xingchen, however, stood completely outside. Standing at the entrance of the grand hall, he looked vigilantly towards the rosy morning clouds.

Huang Miao stood beside Chu Xingchen, calmly looking at the Buddhist sect's sky full of rosy rays, and said in a calm tone:

"Your disciple and your Dao companion have already been arranged to leave under some pretext. If you are truly worried, you should also leave right now."

A relaxed smile appeared on Chu Xingchen's face:

"It's just a guess. The Heavenly Demons might not necessarily burn their boats and fight to the death."

"But with so many Buddhas coming from the other side, if I happen to see some surprise, things might just become much easier."

Huang Miao thought for a moment and could only shake his head, saying:

I really don't understand what you bunch of schemers actually mean when you speak.